Jaita Ji's Extraordinary Journey

The Wonderous 1
4 days ago
6 min read

Continued...

The pure belongs to the ‘Wonderous Enlightener. The victory belongs to the ‘Wonderous Enlightener’.

The following is a breakdown of where Bhai Jaita Ji has been cited to have stopped on his extraordinary journey. Starting from the ‘Banyon’ tree in Chandni Chowk (Delhi) from where he possessed Guru Ji’s head, the first day he travelled about 25 miles. Embracing Guru Ji’s head close to his chest, ‘Jaita Ji’ first stopped in Baghpat at a ‘Dargah’ where a ‘Sufi Fakeer’ called ‘Sheikh Hazrat Vahudeen’ greeted him. ‘Vahudeen’ soon led him to the residence of a Sikh named Krishanpal. ‘Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib’ stands to mark this spot in Baghpat Bangar, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, present day India. ‘Jaita Ji’ travelled through the jungle routes to avoid being spotted by the ‘Mughals’ as the emperor had declared that those responsible for taking Guru Ji’s body must be summoned. In this case, soldiers and spies covered the main highways of travel to arrest those that had dared to challenge their authority.

There is a memorial by the name of ‘Bad Khalsa’ alongside a Gurdwara called ‘Patshahi Nauvi’, at the village Rai in Sonipat, Haryana, India. The history displayed at this place suggests that ‘Jaita Ji’ also stopped here, although whether this was just for rest or to spend the night is unclear. The history board displayed there also states that Jaita Ji’s father agreed to be beheaded himself so that his body and head could be put in place of Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji’s head and body. This is backed by a source that suggests ‘Abdul’ the prison guard (mentioned in Part 8 of this series) turned a blind eye during the swap of soldiers between the morning and night shifts. In this time, Lakhi Shah ‘Ji’ and Jaita ‘Ji’ came collectively and replaced both the body and head of Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji with that of ‘Sadanand Ji’, the father of ‘Jaita Ji’. This source however, is very much unfound in most citations of history and seems alien to the widely accepted view.

The second night stop brought this steadfast ‘Sikh’ to the village of ‘Taraori’ where a river flowed nearby a fortress of a ‘Nawab’ (governor). People would come to wash clothes at this river and this is where a Sikh ‘Dhobi’ (someone who would wash clothes for a living) named ‘Deva Ram’ noticed ‘Jaita Ji’ moving through the bustle of trees. After recognising him, ‘Deva Ram’ called out to him and offered a place to rest. This financially meek devotee was yearning to meet Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji and was overwhelmed to have had the opportunity to serve one of his ‘Sikhs’. It was due to this devotion that Jaita ‘Ji’ revealed Guru Ji’s head to him. ‘Jaita Ji’ unlayered the sheets and allowed the family to see their Guru’s face (that they would wait in anticipation for). The family had already prepared a handmade ‘Chadar’ (sheet) to present to Guru Ji, when they received the chance. They would never have thought how they would eventually manage to see Guru Ji’s face and for what purpose that ‘Chadar’ would come in use. They then replaced the sheets around Guru Ji’s head with their own made ‘Chadar’ and spent the entire night doing ‘Chaur’ service with a garment in their hand. ‘Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib’ marks this spot today on Gurdwara Road, Old Taraori, Taraori, Haryana, India.

Continuing his journey, Jaita ‘Ji’ crossed the river ‘Tangri’, to reach a ‘Jand’ (Prosopis Cineraria tree) which stood on the banks of a river. He sat down for a break leaning his back against it. Here, he met ‘Tulak Shah’ who revealed a route to travel towards the village of ‘Kainth Maajri’. He spent the next night resting at the house of a ‘Sikh’ named ‘Ramdev Ji’. This spot is now marked by ‘Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib’, in Ambala City, Jogiwara, Old Town, Haryana, India.

Now heading closer to home, ‘Jaita Ji’ was looking for a suitable place to rest amongst the trees after having travelled for nearly 20 miles since his last rest. Close by, an elderly worshipper named Dargahi Shah lived in a hut which is where ‘Jaita Ji’ spent his next night. ‘Gurdwara Shri Nabha Sahib’, Zirakpur, Nabha, Punjab, India pays witness to this history today. This spiritual practitioner also yearned to meet Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji, but after learning of Guru Ji’s martyrdom, he asked ‘Jaita Ji’ to send his love and gratitude to Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Guru Gobind Singh Ji remembered this love expressed by ‘Dargahi Shah’ and came to meet him later in history (when coming back to ‘Anandpur Sahib’ from ‘Paounta Sahib’) after the battle of ‘Bhangani’.

The final stop for Jaita Ji (before meeting Guru Gobind Singh Ji) was ‘Kiratpur Sahib’ where ‘Jaita Ji’ anticipated Guru’s head would be cremated due to the cremation of the sixth and seventh Guru happening there. Other ‘Sikhs’ from the ‘Sodhi’ lineage and Guru Ji’s family were also cremated there. This spot is marked by ‘Gurudwara Bibangarh Sahib’, Kiratpur Sahib, Punjab, present day India.

However, the cremation finally happened at ‘Gurdwara Sis Ganj’, Kesgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India. Furthermore, Giani Gian Singh has written about the place opposite the cremation site called ‘Akaal Bunga’ where Guru Gobind Singh Ji embraced ‘Jaita’ Ji and uttered the words “Rangrete! guru ke bete, panth sang smete.” This can be translated as: “O faithful one (with strong religious zeal), you are the son of the ‘Guru’, and one with the path (to ‘God’)”. In this case, ‘Rangrete’ referred to a member of a certain community that was known for being martial and honourable in nature. Guru Ji used the words “Guru Ke Bete (the son of the Guru)” because after a father passes away, it is the responsibility of his loyal offspring to assure that their father’s body has an honourable funeral. This displays respect as a memorial of his life. In the same way, ‘Jaita’ Ji risked his own life to assure that Guru Ji’s head was taken back respectfully to his family where an esteemed funeral service could take place.

In conclusion, from the day that Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji gave his sacrifice, the ‘Mughal’ emperor was unable to sleep in Delhi ever again. This is because when he would try sleeping on his bed, it would flip upside down leaving him to fall beneath it. He would also hear a voice shouting to him: “Oh sinner, do you think that after committing such a sin, that you would be able to sleep in Delhi ever again? From today, I will never let you sleep in Delhi again! If you want to live the rest of your life, then do it in another place, not here.” Hearing this, he jumped up in shock and started praying his ‘Namaz’. He consulted his ‘Peers’ (religious advisors) for what he should do. They advised that this voice was that of ‘Shaheed Bhai Mati Das Ji’ over whom they had no control over. Alternatively, according to other sources, (after Guru Ji’s martyrdom) three different Sikhs attempted to attack the emperor Nauranga. The ‘Mughal’ emperor survived three assassination attempts after which he decided that his residence at the ‘Red Fort’ was no longer safe for him. Thus, ‘Nauranga’’ started to sleep outside of Delhi for a week before he established the city of ‘Aurangabad’ towards the South in which he lived for the rest of his 32-year life span. He never slept another night in Delhi, the city where he had decided to make a career ending decision for himself and his ‘Mughal’ empire. From this point on, the dynasty’s rule started to perish, to the extent that the world has never seen a ‘Mughal’ rule anywhere again to this very day!

At the place where Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji sacrificed his head, ‘Baghel Singh’ was first responsible for leading the re-building of a ‘Gurdwara Sahib’ here after the ‘Khalsa’ was victorious over Delhi in 1783. Hereafter, there have been many famous Sikhs that have assured that this memorial is preserved.

Overall, this brief fourteen part essay attempts to provide readers with an insight into the history of Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji’s martyrdom. so that we can all learn and share the rich history of the heroes that have shaped Sikhs today.

The pure belongs to the ‘Wonderous Enlightener. The victory belongs to the ‘Wonderous Enlightener’.

References:

1. Guru Granth Sahib Ji

2. Sant Gurbachan Singh - (Katha) 'Shaheedi Saka of Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji' (Parts 1 & 2) 3.Thakur Das - Shaheed Bilas

4. Kavi Santokh Singh - Gurpartap Sooraj Parkash

5. Kahan Singh (Nabha) - Mahan Kosh

6. Giani Pinderpal Singh - (Katha) 'Jeevan Katha Ate Shahadat Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji'

7. Bhatt Vahi

8. Alphabet.Inc - Google

9. Dr Sukhpreet S - (Lectures) 'Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji'

10. Sant Kartar Singh - (Katha) 'Shaheedi Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji'

11. Punjab Siyan - (Videos) on 'Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji'